speakers & mentors

Sytze Schalk (Netherlands) is an award winning playwright, (social) game designer and transmedia content producer. After graduating from the 'Writing in Performance' course at the Utrecht School of Arts he worked as an independent playwright, scriptwriter and teacher on several Dutch and international productions. He has worked at the National Theatre Studios in London and the Royal Dutch Theatre. Since 2015, his main focus is on developing the project Shatterland, a transmedia storyworld for young adults, which comes alive in interactive theatre shows, gaming, literature and illustrations. For his work on the Shatterland project, he was awarded the Dutch Wim Bary Stipendium for exceptional young art talent in 2017.Sytze is also a teacher and researcher in narrative design at the Utrecht School of Arts.

David Finnigan (Australia) is a writer, theatre-maker and pharmacy assistant from Canberra. He writes plays, create performances and games that often sit at the intersection of science and art. He works a lot with research scientists to produce work looking at complexity and earth systems science.David is a member of science-theatre ensemble Boho (Australia) and an associate of Coney (UK) and the Sipat Lawin Ensemble (Philippines). He is a Churchill Fellow and an Australia Council Early Career Fellow and winner of the 2017 Griffin Playwrights Award. He's online at davidfinig.com.

Daniel Bye(UK) is a theatre-maker from the north of England. His work mixes storytelling, stand-up and experimental theatre techniques to create work that is uniquely challenging and accessible. As writer-performer, his internationally-touring shows include The Price of Everything, Instructions for Border Crossing and Going Viral. He has directed for leading UK theatres and companies including the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Red Ladder. He regularly collaborates with the composer Boff Whalley to create large-scale community works for choirs and huge ensembles. You can find more for Daniel and his work on his website.

​Andrea Brunello (Italy) - in his work, Andrea Brunello links theatre and science. He holds a PhD in Physics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (USA, 1997). In 2001, Brunello decided to follow his artistic side by pursuing a full-time professional theatre career. He is the founder and artistic director of Teatro Portland (Trento, Italy). He is also the artistic director of Arditodesìo Company, a professional theatre company founded in 2002, for which he has written and produced more than ten original plays that have toured all over Italy and abroad. The works deal mostly with social issues and make use of spoken word and storytelling techniques. In 2012, Brunello founded the Jet Propulsion Theatre (JPT), a permanent laboratory for the theatrical creation connected to science, the people of science, and the scientific tale. As a research lab that aims to narrate science by mixing it with theatre, JPT aims to bring out the human side of science through theatre. Brunello is currently affiliated with the physics Department of the University of Trento where he has recently taught a course called Emozionare con la Scienza on scientific storytelling and scientific playwriting. JPT productions are both in Italian and English and have toured around a great number of venues, theatres, universities, and schools.

Aiste Ptakauske (Lithuania) is a published author and creative content producer who works across media and continents. Ethnic Kitchen, Aiste Ptakauske’s documentary about immigrant women in post-Soviet independent Lithuania, is included into curricula at several European universities. Aiste Ptakauske is a winner of many prestigious national and international awards including an Augustinas Gricius Prize for the Best Fiction Debut in Lithuania, a Fulbright scholarship, and an Iconic Women Creating a Better World for All award from the Women Economic Forum. Aiste Ptakauske is regularly invited to lecture, teach, and coach in different parts of the world. She gave talks and ran workshops at the Oyun Yaz new drama festival in Istanbul (Turkey), the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat (Morocco), the Central Theatre Group of Los Angeles (USA), the California Institute of the Arts (USA), the Banff International Literary Translators Center (Canada), and the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab (USA) to name a few. She is currently a faculty member at the Faculty of Creative Industries of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University where she teaches Introduction to Screenwriting, Fundamentals of Media and Message Strategy, and Live Show Production. Since 2015, Aiste Ptakauske has been running Ethnic Kitchen, her own company that produces socially relevant audiovisual, interdisciplinary, and cross media projects.

Simón Adinia Hanukai (USA / Azerbaijan) is a theatre maker, director, educator, and co-artistic director of Kaimera Productions who splits his time between New York and Paris. Originally from Baku, Azerbaijan, he started his career in Oakland, California, where he was a founding member of headRush Crew and the co-artistic director of the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company.The original full-length dance theater pieces that he created with both companies over the course of six years were toured nationally, and were seen by over 25,000 people per year. Highlights include sharing the stage with Desmond Tutu, Angela Davis, Alice Walker, Neil Young, Alfre Woodard and Martin Sheen.Since launching Kaimera Productions, Simón has created work and taught extensively throughout the U.S., Middle East, South Asia and Europe. Recent directing and devising credits include Les Alibis (Junevents Festival, Atelier De Paris, France), JUPITER (A Play About Power) (La MaMa E.T.C., NYC), Decline & Fall (Tricklock Performance Lab, New Mexico) and Flying Ace and The Storm of the Century (Odin Teatret, Denmark). Simón is an Ambassador for the World Theatre Map, and professor at Sciences Po University in Paris. He holds a Masters in Education from the University of San Francisco’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Social Justice and an MFA in Theater Directing from Columbia University.

Caspar Schjelbred (Denmark / France)Born in Denmark, raised in Sweden, Parisian since 1999. Works as a freelance teacher, director and performer. Specialised in physical theatre (clown/mime) and improvisation. Solo artist with PLAN C since 2012 (Paris, Brussels, Montreal, Sofia, Gothenburg and Australia/NZ tour). Member of the improvisational theatre company The Improfessionals since 2001 (artistic director 2008-2014). Co-directs Impro Academy in Paris since 2006 and teaches across the world with IMPRO SUPREME since 2010: North America (New York, Montreal), Europe (Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Rome, Sofia), Asia (Singapore), Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra). Student and main associate of Ira Seidenstein (International School for Acting And Creativity - ISAAC). Participant in the two previous Summer Scriptwriting Camp/Base 2016 and 2017, Caspar has been a regular visitor to Bulgaria since 2014 when he was first invited there by HaHaHa Impro Theatre with whom he has recently co-created the physical comedy show AVANT-GARDE. Holds an M.A. in History of science (2007) from Université de Paris 1–Panthéon-Sorbonne (history of psychology and the study of emotions in 19th century France).Caspar Schjelbred official website.